Removing a white, heat stain from a wood table

Shelley and I were chatting around the kitchen table tonight when I realized that I had forgotten to eat the tamale she had kindly warmed up for me (this is unfortunately somewhat of a common occurrence). Anyways, when I took the paper plate that it was prepared on off of the table a bright, white heat stain was left behind. To give some context to how dire the situation was, the table is fairly new and is one of our pieces of furniture most highly valued by Shelley :(

You can see the visual damage in the picture below.


After a brief scour of the internet for possible quick fixes, we came across one that involved using a hot, steam iron. So without any further ado, below is a video of our experiment with this illogical solution (using heat to remove a heat stain...just doesn't seem to add up).



Below is an after shot of where the spot once resided and...VIOLA, the stain is gone...well at least almost gone.


Since this incident and subsequent experiment we've learned a few additional things about white, heat stains in wood that we wanted to share with everyone:

1. We recommend the following process: heat up your iron, lay your cotton cloth on top of the stain, place the hot iron on the cloth and move it back and forth with regular ironing motion and pressure, puff out some steam, and then wipe the area with the cloth. Repeat as necessary.
2. This process has been found to be effective for not only same-day stains, but stains that have been on the table for years.
   
3. People report success using varying heat temperatures, steam and no steam, and also just hovering the iron above the stain.
4. The reason the stain cannot be removed with more conventional solutions (i.e. - cleaners, polishers, etc.) is because it resides below the varnish on the wood.
5. The reason heat and steam works is because it draws the stain out from beneath the varnish and then the cloth absorbs it.